Goals galore at Hogan Oval as Namoi United put East Armidale to the sword

Namoi United made a much-needed return to the winners’ circle and they did so in ruthless fashion as they took down East Armidale United FC 18-1 in a rescheduled round six match at Hogan Oval on Saturday afternoon.

The combined Narrabri/Wee Waa/Moree outfit had not registered a win in five games going into that match, but they put those four losses and a draw behind them as they got back on track in their push for a place in the Northern Inland Premier League first grade finals series.

It was already a memorable day for Namoi United before the top-grade game had even begun as their reserve grade team scored their first win of the season when they downed East Armidale 6-1.

For the visitors, it was an admirable effort as they arrived in Narrabri with just 12 players, who lined up for both games.

Namoi United’s first grade coach Neil Brayshaw told The Courier that he was impressed by East Armidale’s dedication and courage.

“We appreciate them still coming out here even though they only had 12 players,” Brayshaw said.

“It’s a credit to them to make the long trip out and not forfeit. It’s also a credit that those players backed up and played both games.

“They never gave up. In first grade, you could see that they were gone in the last 20 or so minutes, but they just never gave up.

“They then came back to the Tourist Hotel for a drink and a chat with us before their trip home.

“Over the years, back in 2014 to 2016, Namoi United had to travel for away games sometimes with 15 or 16 players, and that was tough. For them, it was worse than that, so they should be congratulated.

“Credit to our guys too. It was a bit of a shock being down 1-0, but they did switch on after that and just did what we had to do.

“It was an important win for our season.”

East Armidale showed no signs of fatigue early in the contest as they dominated the opening 15 minutes and took the lead in the 11th minute as Shaun Calliess won a tackle against Hayden Shearin just outside the 18-yard box and fired a strike from the edge of the area into the bottom-left corner.

Namoi United equalised in the 16th minute when Jake Brayshaw brought down a high ball and charged into the 18-yard box down the left edge and fired a strike from a tight angle that the East Armidale goalkeeper could not keep out despite getting two hands to the ball.

The hosts then hit the lead less than four minutes later when opposite winger Colby Williams charged inside from the right and onto the end of a Cooper Brayshaw through ball before setting himself and firing a one-on-one strike past the keeper.

Brayshaw then scored his first goal of the game in the 21st minute when he intercepted a pass between the edge of the penalty area and the halfway line and buried a volley over the keeper and just under the crossbar to make the score 3-1.

The goals continued to rain down as Matt Hamblin smashed a volley from just outside the box into the top-right corner in the 23rd minute, and Jake Brayshaw scored 45 second after the kick-off as he charged onto a Williams cross from the right and found the back of the net from close range at the back stick.

It remained 5-1 for seven minutes before Cooper Brayshaw passed in behind into the path of Ray Nixon, who squared a pass into the box from the left to his strike partner David Avery and watched on as he made no mistake from close range to make the score 6-1 in the 31st minute.

Nixon then scored his first of the contest 10 minutes later when he ran onto another Cooper Brayshaw through ball and this time decided to go himself, tucking away a tidy finish to put Namoi United into a 7-1 lead, which they took into half-time.

It only took three minutes for Namoi United to continue the scoring in the second stanza when Avery scored his second of the game as he charged onto a Cooper Brayshaw through ball and found the bottom-right corner with a one-on-one strike, and he then completed his hat-trick in the 50th minute when he reacted quickest to a loose ball after the East Armidale goalkeeper saved a shot by Williams, and Avery made no mistake with the follow-up as the score became 9-1.

Nixon scored his second of the game two minutes later when he received a pass from the left from Hamblin and smashed the ball into the roof of the net from close range.

It became 11-1 in the 58th minute when Nathan Trindall charged from the defensive line into the box during an attack and got onto the end of a Cooper Brayshaw cutback and scored into an empty net, and Jake Brayshaw made it 12-1 in the 65th minute with a similar goal when he got onto a cross from the right by Williams and scored at the near stick.

Cooper Brayshaw scored his second goal of the game in the 72nd minute when he received a pass from Nixon on the edge of the area and found the top-left corner with a powerful strike, and then Hamblin netted his second in the 75th minute when he played a one-two with Avery and volleyed his strike past the keeper to make the score 14-1.

The next goal flew in 12 second after the kick-off and it was two substitutes who combined to score it after Victor Matuku intercepted a pass and played the ball into the path of Aden Bridge, who ran into the box and scored his first goal in the top grade this year.

Jake Brayshaw made it 16-1 in the 80th minute when he found the back of the net for the fourth time after an Avery blocked shot rebounded into his path and he blasted a strike from 10 yards out just inside the left post, and Bridge scored his second three minutes later when his initial shot hit the post and an attempted clearance fell back to him as he made no mistake with the second attempt.

Cooper Brayshaw then completed his hat-trick and his team’s scoring in the 89th minute when he ran onto a Matuku cutback from the right and fired the ball just inside the left post to make the final score 18-1.

The win saw Namoi United climb to fifth on the seven-team Southern Conference ladder. They are now on 11 points following three wins, two draws and six losses so far this year, and they are nine points outside the top three after third-placed North Companions drew 1-all with Inverell on Saturday to move to 20 points.

Top-ranked duo Moore Creek (25) and Oxley Vale Attunga (23) had the day off, fourth-placed Tamworth FC (15) went down 2-0 against Norths United, and last-placed South United (7) also had the weekend off.

The six-team Northern Conference ladder sees Armidale City Westside lead the way with 28 points. They are followed by Inverell (24), Demon Knights (24), South Armidale United (15), Norths United (12) and then East Armidale United (0).

In reserve grade on Saturday, Namoi United scored their first win of the season after they had drawn four games and lost six during their first 10 outings.

The hosts led 3-1 at half-time and then fired in three more goals during the second stanza to earn the three points.

Aden Bridge opened the scoring after 25 seconds for Namoi United before East Armidale’s Lee Kerrigan equalised in the 14th minute.

Victor Matuku restored Namoi’s lead in the 32nd minute and Bridge made it 3-1 just five minutes out from half-time.

Steve Phelps netted the home side’s fourth goal 10 minutes into the second stanza, and then Cody Shepherdson added the fifth in the 83rd minute.

Phelps made the final score 6-1 when he fired home his second goal in injury time.

Namoi United will be back in action at Hogan Oval in both grades this Saturday when they host Norths United in round 14.

That is the last Northern Conference team the combined Narrabri/Wee Waa/Moree side will face before they take on Southern Conference rivals Hillvue Rovers, Tamworth FC, Oxley Vale Attunga, South United, Moore Creek and North Companions from round 15 to round 20, respectively.